Reviving a Myth
by ThreeCatsinaBarrel
Summary: When Berk is attacked by the Outcasts it starts a new adventure for Hiccup, Toothless and the rest of the newly minted Viking teens.
1. Songs of Promise

Just something I wrote very quickly last night. Saw this amazing movie and had to write something for it. So here you are.

I might write more in it if it gets reviews. But be warned this is very rough, and I haven't checked for any spelling errors and may seem a little rushed, but I hope you enjoy it all the same.

**How To Train Your Dragon**

I have slumbered for aeons, waiting for the time of her voice. For her call to reach to me again across the great voids of dimensions. I have awoken to a new world...

Long must my sleep have been. Our story, our fear, her fear; has been forgotten... like she said it would. A clean page of a book. Her old story burned and fled from memory so her next vessel could write the legend anew. I was only to serve. My old master is dead, through the years her great soul ripped and torn and cast aside before collected again and turned back together. She would not be the same, she would be better, all flaws left to the void of death and I will serve a Goddess reborn... like she promised.

The first clean page of a new fresh book had been revealed, all that is needed now, is the writer of the new Age.

**Chapter One: Songs of Promise**

It was too hard to imagine: him, a hero. Had anyone told him this would happen he would have laughed them into exile along with everyone else on Berk. It just hadn't been plausible a month ago, that he, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the III, would fall into the category of any kind of hero. But here he was, dressing into his best furs and with the metal on his prosthetic leg gleaming and the horns on his helmet shining. Today was going to see a great feast in honour of Hiccup and the other Viking teenagers who came to the rescue of their elders and the defeat of the Red Death; of course, Hiccup was the guest of honour being the one who delivered the killing blow with Toothless.

It was about mid morning and the day was perfect for a feast, the weather was hot (for the isle of Berk) and everyone was pitching in for feast. Every family had its own jobs to do, some prepared food, others prepared drinks and mead, while others prepared the equipment needed for games and the enjoyment of the whole affair. Hiccup stood by Toothless as his father cast his eye over the two of them. Stoick the Vast was a great warrior, even though they were no longer at war with the dragons the magnificent serpents still felt wary of the large man. However, a large Monstrous Nightmare with a missing eye had taken to the large man and they were slowly gaining each other confidences. Hiccup could tell that it was the start of good friendship.

Eventually Stoick's regal beard changed shape in a way Hiccup knew he was smiling underneath the great mass of facial hair and his father's eyes gained a proud glint. "I think that will do you, Hiccup." he said, brushing his son's shoulders and adjusting the helmet on his mop of red hair.

"Thanks Dad. Do I look okay?"

"You look great. I have to say, I never thought I'd see you like this." The ceremonial furs and helmet had strict guidelines of how they had to be worn, how they had to be made and from what materials they had to be made from. The shirt and trousers were made from cotton and wool, held with leather belts; foot wear was boots made of boar pelts and expertly crafted by master cobblers to each individual and came up to just under the knees. Hiccup had been able to redesign his prosthetic leg and with the boot on it looked like a completely normal limb, save for a slight limp. An garment of bear and deer fur covered his shirt and arms and provided padding for leather gauntlets on his arms but left his fingers free. The leather had been embossed with night fury dragons, normally the scenes depicted would involve the slaying of the embossed dragons, now the decorations had saddles and reigns.

Toothless also had new gear and tack. His saddle and Hiccup's harness had been polished to a fine shine, the dragon's red tail fin was positioned so that it was spread showing off the white Viking head proudly. A blanket of fine deer fur was placed over the black dragon's back and wing joints to provide a protective layer so the saddle wouldn't rub Toothless' scales. The young Viking and his dragon partner looked every bit the part of noble warrior and steed, even if the warrior was a bit on the meek side. Stoick adjusted Hiccup's helmet one last time and began to walk the boy towards the front door of their home Toothless trailed behind them and came to stand beside Hiccup once they were outside where a strange sight greeted them.

Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout and the twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were waiting for them, also all dressed in their best clothes and with their dragons beside them also with polished harnesses and tack, along with blankets of deer skin to prevent rubbing. Hiccup had to confess that they all looked amazing, like proper vikings should. "Take your place Hiccup, you too you overgrown lizard." Stoick said giving his son a nudge. Toothless gave a half-hearted hiss as he past the large chief. The other viking teens and their dragons parted so Hiccup and Toothless were in the middle of the line up alongside Astrid and Fishlegs. "GATHER VIKINGS!" Stoick shouted, spooking some nearby Nadders who took to the air squawking.

From all around the village the vikings came to the leader's house followed by inquisitive dragons and those just following the crowd, they gathered in a circle around the teenagers and the chief who was joined by the village elder and Gobber, also dressed in his best and with several Terrors clinging to the fur. "Before we get this feast going I assume you've all completed your family chores?"

He was answered by a collective yes.

"Good, we don't want to have the stop this celebration because _someone's_ forgotten to get the rocks for the Bashyball game." the large chief said, not giving names but a group of vikings in the crowd began pointing to a young warrior who had drawn his helmet over his eyes. It was all in good jest and the attention on him quickly returned to Stoick and the teens. "Here we stand, less in our number but proud in their sacrifice and envious of their entry to Valhalla, they now sit with the Gods and the great warriors of legend!"

A cheer rose from the crowd and went silent again.

"But today is a day of celebration! And today we welcome new members to the Hooligan Tribe, first of all the dragons,"

Another cheer of the crowd and the fluttering of wings and columns of fire shooting into the air.

"These beasts were once our hated enemies, now they are our closest companions and partners and we have Hiccup, my own son, to thank for all of this!"

"HICCUP! HICCUP!" Roared the vikings along with the great roaring of dragons and more pillars of fire. Astrid nudged the red head's shoulder and a chuckling sound from Toothless seeing his rider's face go a glorious shade of red.

"This feast is held in honour of the youngest members of this tribe for their bravery in the face of forces many times their strength! To offer their help to their parents and elders without fear for their own lives and to shun off the bonds of old hatreds and fly dragons straight to the middle of the battlefield! That is the viking way!"

"NO FEAR!"

The crowd was in an uproar and this time it didn't stop as Stoick approached Tuffnut, the twin boy's breath caught in his throat as his chief removed the helmet from his head and gently laid a golden warhammer to his brow.

"Tuffnut the Sly!" Stoick returned the boy's horned helm and moved to his sister as the male twin revelled in his title. As with her brother, the large viking rested the golden hammer against the girl's brow. "Ruffnut the Wild!" Ruffnut returned her helmet to her head, a large grin spilt her face as the twins each stroked a head of their shared Zippleback, Newtsbreath and Seaslug. The next teenager in line was Astrid and Stoick gave the brave viking a warm smile, the golden hammer came to her forehead. "Astrid the Skilful!" from somewhere in the mass of vikings the voracious shouts of Astrid's parents rose above the others and even Brightclaw, Astrid's self-appointed and rather vain Nadder, gave a loud squawk and fluttered her wings. Since Hiccup was the guest of honour, he would get his name last; so his father next had to give Fishlegs his title. The large boy patted the head of Horrorcow, the Gronkcle, who had fallen fast asleep next to him; the strangely calm-natured dragon woke up and came to a stand beside her rider. Like the others before him, the gold hammer was placed to his forehead, "Fishlegs the Brave!". Snotlout was the last in the line and Fireworm stood behind him, but the she-dragon's head was to his left. The strong viking lad was scratching her right eyebrow; an act that Fireworm never seemed to get enough of. Snotlout removed his helmet and waited for the gold hammer and his title. "Snotlout the Reckless!" Fireworm gave a soft rumble, like she agreed with the name. Considering Snotlout had actually set foot onto the Green Death it was a fitting title.

Last of all came Hiccup and Stoick couldn't help but smile at his son before setting the gold hammer to his head. "And last, our guest of honour for this feast, the one who made all this possible and brought down the Green Death single handily, with only a dragon and his wit. I give you my son, Hiccup the Useful!" With the last of the titles given the young teens were now considered vikings, their was only one last part to this ritual.

Stoick raised the gold hammer above his head and the ornamental weapon caught the rays of the sun, glowing like a beacon to the Gods in their Great Hall.

"ONLY THE STRONG CAN BELONG!" Chorused the vikings as one, their collective cry accompanied by the roaring and squawking and bellowing of dragons. With the finish of the naming ceremony the feast began in earnest and the celebration of Thor's Day Thursday could begin.

------ HTTYD ------

With Hiccup still getting accustomed to the limitations of his fake leg he soon discovered that his place for most of the Thor's Day Thursday feast was sat beside his father, tasting his first cup of mead. Toothless had taken to sitting beside him sometimes wondering off to get a bite to eat before coming back and sitting again. Hiccup watched his fellow teens as they mingled with the adults and the younger children, telling them their story of how they helped Hiccup the Useful distract the Green Death long enough to allow the original dragon nest attackers to regroup (there was no such word as 'retreat' for the vikings of Berk). However, Hiccup's attention was mostly drawn to Astrid, who was dancing with her parents and Ruffnut, who was surprisingly an even better dancer than Astrid. But it was Astrid's steps and weaves and graceful moves that the young hero watched from his wooden seat beside his father, his insides aching somewhat that he couldn't join her with his leg which was still toughening up with the prosthesis. Despite all his regrets about not dancing with Astrid, he was in high spirits.

As the sun got higher and eventually began to lower to the horizon the vikings weren't the only ones enjoying the feast. For the first time the vikings were holding a feast out in the open so the dragons could see they were invited too, and every now and then pillars of fire and exploding balls of hot light were sent reaching to the sky as the vikings' merriment spread to the scaly beasts. Considering it was Hiccup and Toothless who had come to symbolize their freedom from the tyranny of the Green Death, the dragon who had forced them to be his slaves, this feast was as much their celebration as it was for the vikings of Berk.

His father and Gobber were enjoying some talk about past battle scars and were well into their seventh or eighth goblets of mead, Hiccup found the drink a little too rich for his taste and could only drink it in small sips.

He looked closer at the crowd and saw small details that he hadn't seen before. Deadly Nadders were perched on rooftops and cawing loudly to some singing vikings while Terrible Terrors quickly scuttled between viking feet and other dragons, big and small helped stoke the many pit fires started to keep food warm while the vikings and their new allies ate. No smoked eel could be found at this feast. Snotlout and Fireworm were trying a bit of everything on offer from the feast, lamb and pork and wild boar to even some roasted vegetables. Hiccup had been just as surprised as the other vikings to see dragons munch on carrots and potatoes, and like them.

Brightclaw was near Astrid flapping her wings to the beat of the music and cawing every now and then, Newtsbreath and Seaslug were also dancing with their riders; well Newtsbreath was sort of waving his head around Ruffnut and the right side leg and fore limb on the Zippleback's main body was tapping along. Seaslug was pigging out with Tuffnut, taking great delight in the taste of a crispy leg of lamb, Seaslug looked like he was in heaven. Fishlegs and Horrorcow were around somewhere but Hiccup couldn't see them from where he was sat.

As noon came and began to disappear with the light, the feast was still going even as the torches around the village were lit and the stars began to glimmer into existence, Hiccup was still on his first goblet of mead. He had lost track of his father's and Gobber's tally of drinks. Toothless was still sat beside him, taking in all the praise and adoration he received from the vikings who came to congratulate his human on becoming a proper part of the family (dragons had families, not tribes). It was Astrid who finally got Hiccup from the throne and finally encouraged him to mingle with the crowd and eat something, much to Brightclaw and Toothless' pleasure as they followed their respective riders as they could chomp on the food they didn't finish. Eventually, even the unlikely hero was drawn into another story-telling session for the younger children and any adult who wanted to listen in the story finished with the last glimpse of the sunset, the feast had lasted all day; and had no indication of being stopped any time soon. Toothless' smooth shiny snout nudged at his humans hand and one of his questioning purrs. He knew Hiccup's leg was beginning to get a little uncomfortable for him.

"Hey, you enjoying yourself too, boy?" Toothless sounded a happy chirp from his throat and he pranced around Hiccup like a dog. Much to the amusement of the children. From the back of Brightclaw, Astrid laughed at the dragon's antics. It would be the last time she would laugh that night.

Suddenly, every dragon in Berk, from Monstrous Nightmares to the tiny Terrible Terrors, just stopped whatever they had been doing and listened. Noticing the change in attitude of the great beasts many of the vikings stopped as well growing worried. There was no sound once someone had managed to stop the band from playing but the dragons could hear something the vikings didn't. "Hiccup, what's going on?" Astrid asked as she watched Brightclaw sucking in huge sniffs of air through her flaring nostrils.

"I don't know," Toothless' own ears were pricking at something and his eyes slitted, lips pulled back and he started growling, starting a chain reaction with every other dragon on the island. The only sound the vikings could hear was the crackling of the pit fires and the low rumbling of the combined dragon snarling. All the dragon heads turned towards the open sea and the Berk harbour, their growling only intensified when every saw one of the Hooligan sentries come running up the hill a worried look etched onto his face.

"Outcasts ships on the horizon!" he shouted when he got to the crowd. Outcasts, so that's what the dragons had been growling at. Everything changed at that moment and the vikings gathered up their weapons and herded the children into the houses further up the hill. Dragons followed as they would be the ones protecting the houses should any enemy work their way as far as here. A few Nadders and Gronkles had picked children up in their mouths and were following the procession up the hill towards the chief,s house. Larger dragons, Monstrous Nightmares, Zippleback and the bigger adult Gronkles and Nadders had already taken to the air, some already had passengers on. Hiccup even thought he saw a few shadows cross the stars above them, Night Furies. Hiccup mounted Toothless and they shot into the air. moments later they were joined by Astrid and Brightclaw flying to their left, the twins could be heard shouting out abuse to each other before they came to be flying on the right.

"I told you Seaslug was acting weird!" Tuffnut shouted

"All the dragons were acting weird you numbskull!" The Outcasts were a tribe made from the exiles of the numerous viking tribes. So the Outcasts were comprised of the most violent, most immoral and extremely dangerous men and women the vikings had to offer the world, no one liked an Outcast; not even other Outcasts. Why they were attacking Berk was a mystery, but it didn't matter. The village had to be protected and the dragons now boosted their numbers.

"Ruffnut! Tuffnut! Try and find Snotlout and Fishlegs. See how many ships there are and try to burn! Start with the ships closet to shore!" They yelled to show their understanding and then them and their dragon banked hard into the darkness. "Astrid, go and see if any have made it to the harbour, if they have, help any of the warriors catch them and burn the attacking ships!"

"Understood! Come on girl, lets go!" and Astrid and Brightclaw disappeared from his side.

"Right, lets burn some boats!" Flying out to the ocean Hiccup could see the Outcasts had really been serious with this attack. Thirty or so boats had crept into the radius of the huge viking carving in the sea before the sentry had seen the black sails, this wasn't just an attack, this was an invasion.

It was a swarm of Nadders who started the attack on the ships in earnest, they fell onto the boat nearest to shores like Valkyries; sending the surprised Outcast crew members into a panic and setting fire to the deck and sails. A Nightmare breathed its sticky fire onto the deck of another and Terrors swarmed the crew of yet another, it was now that Toothless and Hiccup made their first strike, a ship that had already hit shore and the Outcasts pouring out, Toothless' pinpoint strike blew a hole in the ships side and it took in huge amounts of water, most of the Outcast crew made it off but they were visible shaken from the prospect of facing dragons. But it didn't seem to change anything, they shouted and swore in their strange barking language and charged up the hill to be met by the warriors of the Hooligan tribe and more dragons. More dragons fell to the boats, setting them aflame and biting into the crews. To the dragons the Green Death had been a monster, but they dared not anger it, he had held their very nesting site hostage with the fear of destroying the hollowed out volcano if they did not obey. When the vikings had attacked they had fled, the Green Death had not been worth fighting for. But Berk, the vikings who had taken them into their lives and allowed them into their homes and offered their friendship instead of fear... for a dragon, that was worth dying for.

The battle continued for hours. The great fire breathing beasts fought with a ferocity that the vikings of Berk had never seen before, even when the dragons had been raiding them they had never been this fierce. Another of the attacking boats fell prey to the dragons fire and the Outcasts were still trying to gain the advantage, turning their weapons to the sky and several of the dragons had fallen victim to them. Hiccup and Toothless continued with their attacks, blowing holes in the bows of the ships and sinking them, around them they heard the familiar whistling and then crashing bangs from the fiery blasts of other Night Furies striking other boats. Hiccup surveyed the battle on land since some of the Outcast boats had managed to evade the dragons and reached the shore, the Hooligan warriors were keeping the attackers relatively close to shore and dragons offered their aid in the form of breathing fire on the rear ranks of the Outcasts. It was then that a familiar Nightmare came up to the left of them and Snotlout shouted into the wind.

"Hiccup, I hope you have a plan because the Outcasts have reinforcements!"

"Where and how many?" Hiccup called back, getting as close as he could without tangling Toothless' and Fireworm's wings.

"Coming over the horizon to the east! I couldn't count how many ships!"

"Keep attacking the boats! Try and coordinate some of the dragons into laying down fire to help the warriors on the ground!" Hiccup shouted and then turned Toothless to the east, flying to see what Snotlout had reported.

He gasped at the sight before him. Countless ships, stretching to the horizon were sailing towards Berk carrying catapults and siege equipment. The Outcasts really were planning an invasion and not even the dragons would be able to stop this many ships from reaching shore. Toothless was already exhausted from all the shots he had fired and the other dragons were tiring as well, more and more were having to land on the boats to use their teeth and claws on the crew, but that made them more venerable. Hiccup had already seen several dragons of numerous breeds going down with the burning ships or drowning in the sea because they were collapsing in the air. No they had to keep to keep fighting, they were vikings now, they had their duty to the tribe.

It was then it happened. Hiccup would remember that feeling of force pressing down onto his very heart for the rest of his life, it was the first hint of events that would change not only him, but the viking world forever... but those are tales for another time. It started like thunder, roaring through the clouds and gaining strength. Everything went quiet around them and Toothless whimpered, he could sense something Hiccup could not. Power, sheer power. A loud keening sound and then...

BANG!!

Several dozen of the Outcast reinforcement ships just exploded, splintering into thousands of wooden projectiles. Burning with purple and blue flames, catapults sinking to the bottom of the ocean. Hiccup hardly had time to process the destruction in front of him and Toothless before a dozen more ships followed the first to a soggy death. A shadow past by and then up into the sky. A Night Fury! Impossible. For a Night Fury blast to do that much damage it would have to be huge.

The largest Night Fury Hiccup had seen was a old female who had taken to sleeping in the rafters of the Great Hall, she was a good few feet longer than Toothless and he had seen her blasts break mountain rock, but even she had to take a couple of shots at the boats before they sank. But that whistling sound was unmistakeable and suddenly another dozen or so Outcast long boats had become nothing but floating funeral pyres. Toothless and his rider regained their composure, the mysterious dragon could have taken a shot at them but had favoured the boats, it wasn't attacking them so now they had a chance and at last the battle was turning.

The Outcasts who had reached shore were starved of warriors as the boats were being burned and the Hooligan warriors were capturing the survivors from shipwrecks who were washed on shore. Sensing the turn in the fight the dragons fought harder, forgetting their exhaustion and attacking any ships that they were close to.

When the reinforcement ships were destroyed, their crews drowning at sea Hiccup and Toothless returned to the battle closer to shore and discovered the the mysterious dragon seemed to be following when three more ships met the same fate as their fellows as the survivors tried to retreat back to the open ocean. It was only a few minutes to disable the other ships and prevent their escape, the Hooligans were like every other viking tribe, they made slaves of their war prisoners. The Outcast ships burned with blue and purple fire in the harbour creating an artificial dawn on the horizon. As Toothless and Hiccup hovered over the docks all the human could hear was the roaring of the flames, the screams of dying Outcasts and the beating of Toothless' wings. The fire that had devastated the Outcast fleet had definitely come from a Night Fury, but those blasts were huge, the dragon must have been bigger than even the old female.

The young viking heard a sound and flew higher, Hiccup was chasing shadows. A powerful wing flap to his right would send the two following to the right only for them to hear a growl and bank back to the left, or to see a shadow pass the stars. It was trying to catch water or smoke; hopeless.

Hiccup felt Toothless react to something as he went tense and his ears perked, like when he had heard the Green Death calling all the dragons. Toothless picked up speed and banked to the left. He had got a track on something so Hiccup just let Toothless fly; he could hear he was following something, but it was fast, Toothless was having trouble just catching up to whatever he was following. "Go on boy! We just need to see some details." Hiccup urged and Toothless pushed on harder. Eventually, Toothless broke through the clouds and he and Hiccup found themselves flying beside the largest Night Fury either of them had ever seen. It was made the large Monstrous Nightmare who had taken a shine to Stoick look small, its wingspan was no less than fifty feet but Hiccup couldn't see it clearly enough against the black sky to see.

The young viking's breath caught in his lungs when the huge dragon turned its head and looked at the boy and the dragon with glowing, amber eyes full of power, intelligence and unimaginable age.

Two horns stuck out and curved upwards from its snout, catching some star shine and glinting dangerously. As the moon appeared from behind higher clouds, its light revealed more astonishing detail. Its wings weren't bat-like, they were feathered, more like a birds and its great, long back was covered in shimmering soft feathers as well. But it was those eyes, so full of knowledge and power and terrifying secrets and cruel, cold truths that had both the young viking and the smaller dragon mesmerized. For a moment longer, they just flew, side by side, eyes locked onto each other; before the feathered Night Fury broke its gaze and with a couple of flaps from its mighty wings it pulled away from them as the moon returned to the safety of the clouds. With those hypnotic eyes broken Toothless and Hiccup returned to shore, landing on one of the huge viking carvings which met them at the harbour.

The two stared in the direction the large dragon had taken but it had long disappeared into the clouds. The wind blew something large into Hiccup's body causing the young viking to jump in his skin. Fumbling with the object Hiccup was able to pull the largest feather away from his face and body, it was about the same size as he was and its edges were coloured with a deep purple. It must have come from the big Fury, no bird around here was big enough to own this feather.

They heard a song, like a part of the breeze or the far off shouting from Berk residents fighting Outcasts or chasing down their prisoners. It was a dark promise, of riches and ruin and all the things worse than death; it made Toothless shudder and Hiccup was suddenly very aware of the chill on the air.

_I'll chase you in your Nightmares_

_And hound you in your dreams_

_I'll find you in your hideaways_

_And behind your Mother's knees_

_I'll run you through the darkness_

_And hunt you in the morning light_

_My claws and ambitions will tear at your soul_

_Your Gods cannot save you from Fate_

_Your Heavens gates will stay closed as I pull you down to my Hell_

_Tribes who killed my Goddess_

_Your blood will stain the snow_

_Tribes who killed my Goddess_

_This is my curse on your bones_


	2. Looking for the Key

Here's chapter two, sorry for the wait. I've been doing more writing for Legacy of the Overlord so I haven't really spent much time on this.

Again, very rushed and hurried. But still, I hope everyone enjoys.

Like usual if you like, leaves reviews.

**How To Train Your Dragon**

Outcast.

Thrown out.

Rejected.

I was all of those things once.

She was all of those things once.

We have both been forgotten. But perhaps not completely.

This boy, this scrawny creature, riding upon one of my own regal brethren. I had watched that day of their celebration. How he and the others were brought into their family, their precious tribe, he was nothing like the others. He didn't act like the others. He didn't think like the others. He didn't _feel_ like the others.

He was like her in a way.

Yet they excepted him. They respected him, what he came to symbolize.

She had never mentioned anything like this, but she had probably thought that something like this might happen. She was a firm believer in small miracles.

Then the black ships came. I felt the impending attack first, than the other brethren, like small chill running down the spines on your back or over scales. The battle started shortly thereafter.

I should have remained in the shadows, I should have stayed out of the fight, but I should have done a lot of things before this night. The boy was what mattered now, he was the writer. He was the one who thought differently.

The Outcast ships burned magnificently, it was good to be able to flaunt my power, my training, my skills, my hunting prowess after so long sleeping. But the boy found me, the smaller brethren was loyal... I had not been expecting that. His eyes held everything to me. He didn't know it, didn't understand how, but he told me everything, his life of ridicule before his friendship with the dragon he had maimed with one of his inventions, how the boy had risked everything to bring forth a new era, his father, his tribe. his best friend... and how, at the end of it all, he killed a Sea Dragonus Maximus!

Well, it appears my Goddess was right after all.

Big surprises do come in small packages.

**Chapter Two: Looking for the Key**

To say Stoick was happy would be the understatement of the century. To say Stoick may as well be feasting in Valhalla already would also be an understatement... but you would be close to understanding how the big chieftain of the Hairy Hooligan tribe was feeling at the moment his son came soaring out from the brightening dawn sky to say the Outcasts were defeated. Their boats burning in Hooligan waters. The surviving Outcast warriors who had reached land had quickly been rounded up and shackled in the old dragon arena, within a week word would have travelled to the other tribes and no doubt they would be bartering for slaves. Hiccup wondered briefly how the other tribes would react to the dragons but his mind was too scattered to focus for anything. He had taken a place in the great hall and had placed the huge feather on the table in front of him, a shining black that seemed to be a colour all of its own and with the rich purple running along its edge, it reminded him of a sword for some reason, like it could cut through bone and armour as easily as the great dragon who had owned it, could destroy a boat. He sat there for an unknown amount of time in the Great Hall, only Toothless sat with him, staring at the feather with the same transfixed gaze. Outside the rest of the Hooligan tribe were repairing the village , the few houses that had been set alight by the Outcasts that made it to shore, or by accident by dragons who were now helping the process of repair. Something that the Vikings found surprising was that while dragons could start fires very easily they could also put them out with relative ease as well. Mostly by smothering the flames with their fire-resistant bodies, depriving the fire of oxygen, they could also suck the air away from a larger fire to suffocate it of oxygen leaving just a smouldering pile. Vikings and dragons were also being used to guard the Outcast prisoners in the old dragon ring, Snotlout and Fireworm were on guard here as well. Fireworm seemed very pleased with the result of the prisoners in the cage, she had been one of the original dragons captured to be killed by the Vikings before Hiccup saved them all, now she crawled over the arena chains, growling and snarling at the Outcast inhabitants within. The repairs continued, even though there was talk already about another celebration being held for the victory. That would have to wait.

Hiccup couldn't get his mind off the mysterious dragon whose eyes seemed to know everything about him. They had made him feel like... that if he had continued to stare into them he would have learnt the secrets to everything there was to know. It was a powerful feeling, but a down-right terrifying one too.

Taken out of his stupor by a shout from outside, Hiccup got his book and charcoal from a holster on Toothless' saddle and opened it to a fresh page. He placed the feather on a chair near Toothless so he wasn't leaning on it as he wrote. With the dragons now helping the Vikings of Berk, Hiccup had taken it upon himself to rewrite the Dragon Manual. He sketched the huge outline he had seen while riding Toothless and made sure to include its two horns and feathery wings, those had been the only details he had been able to see apart from its glowing, amber eyes. Then, underneath the drawing, he wrote:

_Speed: unknown (faster than a Night Fury)_

_Size: estimate 50 feet (larger than Monstrous Nightmare)_

_Dragon shares many similarities with Night Furies but has feathers and is extremely large in comparison. Two horns on the nose may be just for display, could be used in a fight. Attacks in similar fashion to a Night Fury but its attacks are extremely powerful, capable of penetrating both sides of an Outcast longboat. Burns with a blue and purple flame, could hint to fire being very hot. Never before seen flames of a similar fashion. Dragon seems intelligent and tolerant, but caution should be exercised if encountered again._

Hiccup looked at what he wrote and wondered whether this dragon was a new dragon species or a sub-species of the Night Fury, like how the Timberjack was related to the Monstrous Nightmare. He refused to believed that the dragon he and Toothless had caught sight of was the same as Toothless himself. He had seen distinguishing features between the older and younger dragons. While Toothless was quite young and didn't have many features that showed his age, the old female Night Fury who was often roosting in the Great Hall had grown a large sail on her back in place of the budding spines which graced Toothless'. He had seen several other Furies were starting to grow similar sails. But if the dragon he had seen attacking the Outcast boats was a Night Fury... he couldn't even imagine the age of it. The page needed a name, a name for _this_ dragon. "Hey, Hiccup. You're dad said you'd be here." it was Fishlegs who joined him at the table.

"Oh' Fishlegs, you scared me." Hiccup said picking himself back from the floor where he had fallen. Toothless helping him back to his seat.

"Sorry, didn't mean it." Hiccup watched as the other teens gathered around and sat down, food plates and goblets in hand, looking exhausted after the battle. Snotlout (just taken off guard duty) was sporting a black eye and a cut lip, Tuffnut and Ruffnut were covered in dirt and their faces were gashed, they'd fallen from Newtsbreath and Seaslug probably from an argument got out-of-hand (again). Fishleg just looked a bit singed and Astrid was sporting cuts and bruises as she took her usual place at Hiccup's side. Brightclaw, Horrorcow, Fireworm and Newtslug (a term Hiccup had used for the twin's dragons and had stuck) followed their riders in and laid down nearby.

"What are you writing?" Astrid asked, placing a goblet of water into Hiccup's hand. "A new entry to the Manual?"

"I don't know why you're bothering with that." Snotlout said, taking a huge mouthful of whatever drink he had in his goblet. "With you showing everyone dragon's aren't all fiery breath and sharp teeth, its pretty much useless now. Not that I ever bothered to read it anyway."

"Actually, the original book still has many good tip on the dragon species," Fishlegs added, his speech becoming animated and excited with the discussion of books "Hiccup is just adding what the dragons could do now that would be useful to help in the village, or ways in training them. I've already helped him add more to the Gronkle section. Most Gronkles are capable of sniffing out precious metals or gems in rocks, and Horrorcow can beat her wings so fast she can help heat the fires in the blacksmith forge." Horrorcow on hearing her name rolled onto her back showing off her belly and allowed Fishlegs to scratch her pale underside, the Gronkle's left rear leg clawing at the air much like a dog.

"Are you sure about this one Hiccup?" Astrid asked as she looked at his writing. "Dragon shares many similarities with Night Furies but has feathers and is extremely large in comparison. Speed, unknown. Size, larger than a Monstrous Nightmare." there was an obvious hint of non-belief in Astrid's voice as she read aloud, but the description had drawn the other teens and the dragons closer together to look at the slim paragraph. "What is this?"

"Yeah, that doesn't sound like any dragon we've seen here. Even those weird Raptortougnes." Tuffnut said. Raptortounges were actually a breed of dragon who had made themselves known only after the vikings had killed the Green Death, they resembled a dragon who had been trod on by a very heavy giant. Giving them a remarkably flat appearances, they could cram themselves into the tightest places and wedge themselves in the crevices of cliffs to wait in ambush for birds who would land.

"You're going to find this hard to believe, but a _this_ dragon was the reason we got victory last night." Hiccup told them truthfully. And he then proceeded to tell them of how he and Toothless had witnessed the simultaneous destruction of dozens of Outcast long boats and how they had finally been able to catch up with it, cruising over the tops of the high clouds. Staring with its cold, intelligent eyes. By the end of Hiccup's speech, his fellow Vikings were quiet, trying to comprehend what the Hooligan heir had told them, the feather was obvious proof that Hiccup had been telling the truth and each teen spent time running their fingers along the huge feather. The dragon's sniffed at the black object when it was shown to them, but they shied away from it. Eyes to the floor in what Hiccup had noticed seemed to be a sign of great respect between the dragons. He had seen a lot of the dragons doing it to Toothless.

"Whoa, this thing sounds awesome! Do you think it'll show up again?" Ruffnut said, breaking the silence that had gathered in the great hall her hand stroking the feather on the table.

"I'm not sure, but it seemed... surprised... when Toothless and me caught up with it. Like it didn't think we'd be able to follow." Hiccup told them. "But I'm not sure if it will show itself again, its probably a subspecies of Night Fury and they can be very shy." The break seemed to cause a little conversation to start between the newly minted Vikings, and the conversation continued about the huge dragon Hiccup had seen.

"Wouldn't it be cool, if it was looking for a rider, like it was trying to pick out the strongest Vikings from all around the islands and tribes." The dragons growled quietly and edged closer to their riders, obviously the dragons didn't think it was cool.

"How come this thing hasn't shown itself before? If that had attacked Berk it would've caused a huge amount of damage. Especially if you think its fire is that hot." Snotlout asked Hiccup, the others looked to the thin teen to listen to his answer but Hiccup just shook his head.

"I don't know." he answered truthfully. Really, what did he know. What he knew about the mysterious dragon was exactly what he had told the others just now. "Perhaps it was wary to come to the islands because of the Green Death, or perhaps its looking for new territory, maybe its even looking for a mate. Even the presence f humans may have warded it off and its slowly coming closer because the other dragons are starting to trust us."

"You keep saying 'it's looking', but what's looking for?" Astrid asked "How do you know it's looking for anything? It may have just found its way here, or was here all along and just didn't trust us."

"I don't know, but, when we were up there with it and it was just staring us. It just seemed like it was looking for something, and there was something else, but I can't remember what." Hiccup said. There was a moments pause until the great doors to the huge hall opened and Gobber shuffled over to the teens at the table. Hiccup quickly shut the book and hid the gigantic feather under the table.

"There you are, wondered where'd you'd gone off to." the large man said "Com'on now, time for you to get some sleep, we've still got a lot to fix up but we don't need you to fall asleep on your duties. Go home, get some kip, and join us when you're all fresh and ready. We you lot up front there attacking the Outcasts consider this a reward for victory. A full night's sleep before we turf you out to help, now go on." And one by one the teens and their dragons left the great hall saying their goodbyes.

What Hiccup had forgot, was that whisper in the wind, that sound that he had that he hadn't been sure was either a voice or just the breeze. He had forgotten it by the time he had begun writing in his book about the huge dragon that had given the Hooligans victory over the Outcasts.

------ HTTYD ------

The distant, misty island that was home to the dragons' nest was quiet. The dragons were nesting inside, free from the terror of the Green Death and awaiting for their mates and neighbours to return from the Vikings, for you see, with the fighting between them now a thing of the past the dragons came to see the wingless as friends; and dragons enjoyed the company of friends. But none of the dragons were flying about outside, preferring the warmth and relative safety of the volcano that was their roosting site, so no one saw the shadow of a dragon crawl over the rotting carcass and the blasted bones of the Green Death. Black and purple tinted feathers fluttered to the stone beach and caressed the rocks and bones.

Powerful claws and grasping feet landed elegantly upon one of the Green Death's exposed ribs, a great dome of bones and spine and skin and rotting flesh, half burnt and blasted. The smell offended his nose, but he had to come here since it was important. It was key to bringing forth his Goddess. He didn't have to worry about being found by the brethren, they knew how dangerous he could be, he didn't need to flaunt his power to them. They'd leave him alone. He didn't have to prove himself to anyone any more, only to his Goddess.

By their very name, a sea dragon was meant to be big but the Green Death was huge even to others of his own kind. For the feathered Night Fury, that could be a clue to something that he searched for. Climbing down from the arching ribs and gliding down into the devastated chest cavity of the huge corpse, blasted and scorched from its own fire. Very ingenious for the scrawny boy to come up with that plan based on an encounter with a Terrible Terror the dragon thought to himself.

He dug around in the ground and the burnt flesh just looking, the smell felt like it was clawing at the smell receptors in his sensitive nose, but that didn't stop the large Night Fury from using the two horns on its nose as a shovel to shift more earth and grizzly mess. He had been here before, looking as well, for any clue that could help him restore power to the Astral Gateway where he had been hibernating all these lonely years. He would not stop until he found what he was looking for.

He had to send his Goddess a sign, a sign that she would recognise despite being reborn and her memory of this place turned to ashes; it was something she would have to feel, a pulse of power, or something to tempt her curiosity. He could always remember her being a very cautious, but curious creature. He was certain that this sea dragon had had a certain stone in its possession. A stone that his old master had made at the height of her power before the betrayal of the tribes that killed her. But even if the stone could not be found, there were other ways to give power to the gate. They would just be a little harder to obtain.

He continued to dig, he was covered in filth and grime and steaming, stinking gore by the time he had to finish from sheer exhaustion or else he would spending the night in this corpse. His feathers slimy and bloody.

The Green Death's heaving carcass was huge, he still had many areas to look and dig at before he could be certain the stone could not be found.

Flying from out of the huge body, back between its huge rib bones he dove into the sea to clean his body and feathers, returning them to their gleaming black and purple, his horns and claws back to a dark, almost black, storm grey. Drying out in the air on the stoney beach he ruffled his feathery mane and crest free from water and spread his wings out to his sides, their full one hundred and twenty feet span, allowing his legs to curl up under him and his throat and chin to meet the smooth pebbles on the shore.

He could still remember her weight on his back, between his shoulder blades and wing joints she had ridden him to speeds not even his fellow Night Furys could hope to obtain. Whispering gentle but firm orders in his ears and him swaying and banking in response to her gentle touches and the movement of her body. He missed his master, he wanted her back. And he wanted to destroy the tribes that had taken her from him.

The boy was the answer, he was sure. The boy, Hiccup was his name, could help him. He would have to keep an eye on the young Viking to insure his safety; not that he would need much of it with the younger brethren as his mount. A strong and loyal male that reminded the huge dragon of himself when he was younger with his young Goddess.

He heard the flapping wings of a Monstrous Nightmare approaching the Green Death's corpse, with it were several smaller dragons and a Gronckle by the judge on the humming. By the time this territorial patrol had reached the section of beach which marked the Green Death's resting place there was no sign of the large black dragon, save for twirling patterns and disturbances in the mist and fog.


	3. The Flight of Camicazi

Chapter 3, all things belong to the Cressida Cowell and Dreamworks. I own nothing. THERE! I own NOTHING!

**How To Train Your Dragon**

Humans do not listen very well.

This has long been my observation and my belief for a long time now.

I never used to think like this, I used to think humans could listen very well. They listened to my Goddess. A one time, all the tribes listened very intently to her wise words and great power.

But her power was something they could not understand and so it frightened them, and humans despise what they are afraid of.

Or, they come to want it for themselves. Idiots.

She told them they didn't have to fear her, but they didn't listen.

Much like Hiccup's father.

He was told about 'something on their island', in the dragon's nest, but he did not listen to his child and it was his tribe and his son that paid the price for his pride. The lives lost and marred, the scars and the blood spill, and the maiming of his son; the future of the tribe _he_ was meant to lead and protect was a risk he could have avoided.

If he had only listened.

My Master never told the tribes what would happen if they betrayed her, but it should have been easy to see what would happen. She had governed them, she had built them into a great kingdom that could have lasted aeons. Her Kingdom could still be here, the great flags and mighty banners flying high and proud and me and my master flying, leading the vast, noble armies. But always there are those who seek power for themselves. Power they have no idea to handle. Only my Goddess knew how to handle her own power.

They killed her, and the leader of the rebels, a greedy, small-minded, dangerous man, had taken her throne for himself. Oh how I enjoyed watching the great halls fall down around his ears. My Goddess ruled her kingdom for several hundred lifetimes and in the matter of a few years the tribes had fallen to in fighting. The lead rebel was killed by his own son, and it broke my heart one last time to witness. But I slept afterwards happy in my new knowledge. You can try and convince me otherwise, but my beliefs are set now.

Humans do not listen very well.

But now my Master is reformed, she is better, free from flaws and pointless feeling, able to rule again. This time she will reign For Ever and this time those treacherous tribes will be eradicated from the face of the Earth.

The boy listens; or rather, he listens better than the others, he will show them the way. While I show my Goddess to her throne.

**Chapter Three: The Flight of Camicazi**

The Hooligan tribe had not opened their trade routes for some years after their dragon troubles had escalated out of control, the stubborn dragon slayers simply didn't have any resources to trade. Food that wasn't stolen by the flying devils had to be preserved for the harder months of Winter and any resources like wood, stone or metals were being used to repair buildings and weapons on a daily basis. As such, the Hooligans had not been heard from for many years. So when a two-manned ship pulled into the Bog-Burglars harbour flying the Trader's Flag it caused quite a stir. Even more so when one of the Hooligan messengers on board turned out to be a moving platform for a tiny Terrible Terror dragon.

Now, a couple of days later, a Bog-Burglar trading ship was sailing across relatively calm seas and in the distance the isle of Berk rose up from the horizon like a plant growing from the ground. At the helm of the _Freya's Squall_ was the great chieftain of the female dominated Bog-Burglar tribe, a large woman adorned with leather armour and bearskins, a mass of dark blonde locks fell around her face like a lion's mane. Bertha Jornsden, also known as Big Boobied Bertha (for obvious reasons, the clue is in the name) was making this journey mainly to try and understand what had happened to the tribe she had long considered an ally.

"Mother! Do you think they'll have a Bashy ball match?" shouted a young female voice from the crow's nest of the ship. "Or perhaps weapon demonstrations? Oh, oh! Do you remember the sheep races?" Bertha looked towards a head hanging over the basket of the crow's nest, a lion's mane of blonde hair a bit lighter than hers was blowing fiercely in the wind. "Do you remem..."

"Yes, Camacazi! Now stop dangling from that nest. You won't be doing anything if you're a red stain on the deck of my boat!" Bertha called to her daughter, and she watched as Beetle, her daughter's best friend, pulled the hyperactive young heir to the Bog-Buglars back into the crow's nest. The Bog-Burglar tribe were considered as the best thieves in the Barbaric Archipelago and Camacazi was renowned as being one of their best. Quite a feat when you consider she was only fourteen, _'soon to be fifteen in a couple of months'_, she would say.

The young girl had rustled sheep and other livestock from Uglithug territories, stolen the prized helm of a Hysteric chief, taken long boats from Berserk Island, as well as escaped from many holding cells and prisons when she was caught on the rare occasion. She was also a superb swords master and some would say a bit of an adrenaline junkie (though no such word actually existed in Viking society). Bertha loved her, she was her pride and joy and the model Bog-Burglar.

Their boat looked like it was the first to reach Berk, the only other ships in the area at the moment were Hooligan fishing boats and they greeted the trading vessel warmly, waving and shouting out friendly roars. To the astonishment of the Bog-Burglar crew many of these little boats were being helped in their fishing haul by Terrible Terrors.

What happened here? The Hooligans were at one time the most extreme of the Viking tribes when it came to slaying dragons; before the trade routes were closed the Hooligans often traded masses of Terrible Terror pelts. Never had they allowed even a dragon egg into their village unless it was hard boiled and served with some wild boar. Bertha had to admit she was curious, but she was also a bit apprehensive about meeting up with the tribe after the few years they had been cut off, locked up in their war with the dragons. She knew Stoick from her younger days as a good friend of Valhallarama, his wife, and knew that after the dragon raid that killed her and left their young son without a mother, he would never allow a living dragon onto Berk unless it was for the training ring. But the small minor dragon raids on her own tribal territories had stopped several months ago, so something must of happened.

"DRAGON!" Camacazi screamed down to the deck. At the dreaded word the crew of _Freya's Squall_ immediately took to their posts, taking up their weapons and readying bolas, others had thrown buckets attached to ropes into the ocean in order to put out any fires that would start up. Bertha was still shouting out orders when her daughter and Beetle called down to the others below them again. "Hold on! You're not gonna believe this... its waving a Bog-Burglar banner!" Bertha stopped shouting and the crew stared up at the two girls in the crow's nest as if they had gone mad.

"Say that again, Cami!" Bertha shouted.

"The dragon's holding a Bog-Burglar banner!"

"Someone's riding it too!" Beetle yelled down after Camacazi's shout. "Here they come!"

A medium sized black dragon came soaring parallel to the port side of the trading ship, its cat-like eyes looking intently at the crew on the deck, and in its black claws it held the Bog-Burglar banner that was given to Berk as a symbol of peaceful trade when the trade routes were first opened two hundred years ago. Its wings were massive and just like what Beetle had said, a young boy was riding upon its back as confident as if he ridden the great beast all his life. The Bog-Burglars were speechless. A boy, a rather thin looking boy at that, riding a dragon. A Hooligan, riding a dragon.

The boy and his black mount circled around the rear of the boat and flew alongside the starboard side, shouting against the wind to the captain, Bertha herself.

"Are you Bertha Jornsden?" he called out. The woman could do nothing but nod. "There's a space at the harbour for your boat straight as you come into the bay! It will be best if you speak with my father first! A lot had change in Berk!" With that, the boy and the black dragon flew back to the island, leaving behind a very shocked crew, and a very, very excited Camacazi. Who was almost falling out of the crow's nest to get a closer look at the messenger only Beetle was able to stop her from falling over the edge.

------ HTTYD ------

The preparations for the first inter-tribal market in Berk for many years had started very early in the morning, stalls were set up around the gathering square in the middle of the village and the Outcast prisoners were lined up and shackled to the rock and stone walls in the old Training Arena ready to be bartered for, not that they had any choice of course, there were many warriors and even more dragons guarding them and already most of the prisoners-soon-to-be-slaves had burns and scratches. Some had even been killed, their corpses just piled together in one of the old dragon cells.

Hiccup was with his father who was helping oversee the construction of a simple race track for the sheep races, it had always been a popular sport with the traders of the other tribes, especially if any of the adults had brought their children with them. It was as a Nadder and a dragon called a Bone Knapper, a curios dragon whose markings and scales made it look like if was just a collection of living bones, were herding several sheep up to the pens to be marked for the races that Hiccup realized their might be problems with the other tribes.

Although the Vikings of Berk had suffered the most from the dragon raids, the other tribes had also been targets for smaller raids, with the Green Death now dead and the dragons at peace with the Hooligans they had no need to attack the other tribes; but it was likely the traders making their way to Berk even now were not going to be pleased to be greeted by dragons and they may even attack if the dragons approached their ships. With the attack by the Outcasts it had made many of the large reptiles paranoid about any boats entering Hooligan waters, so if the traders did attack... well, you can have a guess at what may happen. Either way, it wouldn't be good.

"Dad? What are we going to do about the dragons?" Hiccup asked, hoping that the chief would realize the predicament.

"What about the dragons?" Obviously not.

"The other tribes don't know we're not fighting dragons any more. What if they attack?" Hiccup explained and Stoick turned to face his son.

"I didn't think of that." He admitted "Have you got any ideas, you're the thinker in this tribe, Hiccup." His father was right, Hooligans weren't known for their brains unless it came to ship building and catapults. Hiccup looked about the square, from where the sheep races would be held. His eyes fell on a number of folded fabrics placed at the foot of several old dragon statues where they would later be hung. These folded fabrics were the banners that showed what tribes were trading with the Hooligans. Bog-Burglars, Bashem-Oiks, Meatheads, and Grims, their banners were all here.

"I have an idea. I'll..." Hiccup began to tell his father, when suddenly.

"Bog-Burglar ship on the horizon!" yelled one of the sentries on one of the catapult towers.

"Are you sure it's Bog-Burglars?" Hiccup called up to the sentry.

"Certain, the horizontal yellow stripes and the Bog Daisy motif on the sail." Hiccup rushed as fast as his leg could take him to the folded banners and searched for the Bog-Burglars. Finding it, he tucked it under his arm as his father asked what his plan was.

"You'll see. Toothless!" Hiccup said, and as the sound of the heavy, running paws of the Night Fury came rushing up to the square the boy turned back to his father. "If you could get Astrid and Fishlegs here by the time I come back I'll explain to you and them. I'll go and meet the Bog-Burglars." Toothless had reached him and Hiccup mounted the saddle, engaging his metal foot in the pedal the two shot into the air. "Toothless, hold this buddy, we have to make sure that ship doesn't attack you." The black dragon took hold of the banner and it opened up to the wind as they approached the trading ship.

"DRAGON!" Hiccup prayed to great Odin that his plan worked, or else he and Toothless could both be facing only a few more seconds of life. The young Viking made sure the banner could be seen from the Bog-Burglar trading boat as Toothless gracefully soared along their starboard side. Every face was turned towards him and the dragon flying their colours, literally. Hiccup circled around and eventually he and Toothless came to a level speed with the ship. Taking a look at the crew his eyes fell onto a large woman covered in bearskins and a mane of blonde hair falling over her shoulders and back and decided that this must be the famous Big Boobied Bertha (even with her hair he could see where she got the nickname).

"Are you Bertha Jornsden?" he called out. The woman could do nothing but nod. "There's a space at the harbour for your boat straight as you come into the bay! It will be best if you speak with my father first! A lot had change in Berk!" And he and Toothless then pulled away from the boat, guiding the vessel the rest of the way to the harbour.

When the Bog-Burglars reached there designated spot at the Hooligan harbour they were greeted by the cheers of the Hooligans and the curious stares of the dragons that now lived alongside them. It seemed that word of the trade routes reopening had reached the liberated Dragon Nest, for the village was near to bursting with the reptiles. Hiccup was sure they didn't understand about the importance of the trade routes to the other tribes reopening but they understood that it was a special day. They had arrived at Berk early and on their best behaviour.

Stoick was already waiting for the boat and as his son flew over his head he shouted out that Astrid and Fishlegs were waiting for him at the square were the other banners lay, Snotlout, Fireworm, the twins and NewtSlug were with the other warriors and the dragons guarding the prisoners. Getting from Toothless' back the other two other teens help him attach the Bog-Burglars' banner to the mouth of one of the dragons, signalling that the tribe had reached Berk safely.

"Your father said you needed help with something." Astrid said, making sure Hiccup was steady as he checked the ties to the banner "I guess it has something to do with you and Toothless going out to meet the Bogs?" The Bogs were just a name given to members of the Bog-Burglar tribe and any of their ships and equipment.

"Yep, listen, hopefully the other tribe's trading ships won't come all at once and we'll be able to just guide them in with the dragons, we need to make sure they won't attack." Hiccup explained "But if they do, I'll need you two to help me greet the other boats."

How come you haven't got, Snotlout, or the Ruffnut and Tuffnut to help with this? They won't be happy." Fishlegs said, Horrorcow lay sleeping on the ground, blissfully unaware of all the work her small wings were going to do that day.

"I'm sure the ships would attack the bigger dragons on sight, what would you do if you saw a Monstrous Nightmare flying towards your boat?" Hiccup asked, the same look of realization crossed Astrid's and Fishlegs' faces. "I thinks it's best to just use the smaller dragon breeds."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Astrid agreed petting the neck of Brightclaw "So, who do you want to greet the Meatheads?" Hiccup and Fishlegs looked at Astrid with confusion. Then from the sentry on the tower who shouted down.

"Meathead ship!" Hiccup smiled at the smug look on his girlfriend's face and handed her the Meathead banner as she mounted Brightclaw.

------ HTTYD ------

The meeting with the tribes had gone better than Hiccup, or his father, thought it would. Of the four tribes that had been invited, the Bog-Burglars, the Meatheads and the Bashem-Oiks had come; the a messenger from the Grim tribe had arrived to explain that his tribe was facing some difficulties from the past Winter and was sailing back to his tribe now with the message to say the dragon war was over and to ask if they would accept help from Hooligans. The messenger would return as soon as possible if their help was needed.

It also turned out that the chiefs of the Bog-Burglars and the Meatheads were old friends of Hiccup's parents, he had brief memories of the two impressive chiefs before his mother died and indeed, his father greeted Bertha and Mogadon with almost desperate embraces, they had not seen each other for many years and before Stoick had closed off his tribe from the rest of the world he and Mogadon had been close friends. Bertha had known Valhallrama, Hiccup's mother, for many years before that. The chief of the Bashem-Oiks was an old warrior, but was still greeted with great enthusiasm by Stoick and the others, Gobbletoad, also known as Old Wrinkly in his old age, was a popular judge among the many Viking tribes renowned for his fairness and keen understanding. Bertha and Mogadon had also brought their children with them.

Thuggory Caine was Mogadon's son and was a huge brute of a teenager, a year older then Hiccup at seventeen but could have been mistaken for eighteen. He was head taller than Snotlout and wore fine woven clothes and a boar skin cloak, a small broadsword was strapped to his back though by the muscles in his arms it looked like Thuggory didn't really need to use it. He stood by his father's side in the meeting looking like the perfect heir to the warrior-like Meathead tribe. Scary and unafraid to use brute strength. During his life Hiccup had learnt to stay away from such people, so it came as a great surprise when the huge Thuggory walked up to him, gave him a friendly smile and introduced himself, talking in a civilised manner with his deep, rough voice and genuinely quite impressed with the shorter boy. He even covered up his sword with his cloak when Hiccup explained that some of the dragons were still a bit unsure around weapons.

Camicazi, Bertha's daughter, however, was almost Tuggory's complete opposite. She was two years younger than the rest of the Berk teens with a big mane of blonde hair similar to her mother, but unlike her mother, Camicazi had braided some parts of her hair with small trinkets of precious metal and dragon scales and horn. She wore dark clothes and trousers made the same pelt as Hiccup's, deer. She was hyperactive and excitably, but also, very friendly and wasted no time in introducing herself and her best friend, a quiet, dark haired girl dressed in the same manner, Beetle, to the Berk teens and Thuggory. Camicazi must have been the only Viking to actually be smaller than Hiccup himself, but she made up for it with her enormous personality. She especially loved hearing about how Hiccup lost his leg and fighting the huge sea dragon, even Thuggory commented on the impressive scar (for a Viking, the bigger the battle scar the better).

Under the recommendation of his father, Hiccup showed Thuggory, Camicazi and Beetle around the village with Astrid, Fishlegs and the teens who had returned their rounds at guarding the Outcasts. And as the group of teenagers made their way around town, being greeted by Viking and dragon alike, Hiccup couldn't help but observe the remarkable changes that overcame each of the visitors as they met more and more dragons until they came to the square where the banners were now flying freely in their proper place, where Toothless, Brightclaw and Horrorcow had remained playing about with some poor unfortunate sheep that had got out of the race pen. Seeing the fun, Fireworm, Newtsbreath and Seaslug joined in when Toothless bounded over to Hiccup, scattering the three newcomers as he purred and shifted so Hiccup would scratch him behind his ears.

"This is Toothless," the inventive teen said "you could say he's the one who started all this."

"Wow, this isn't... he isn't... he is, isn't he?" Camicazi said, her face so close to Toothless' nose she was almost touching it with her own. "He's a Night Fury! Isn't he?" she almost screamed, bouncing on the soles her feet.

"Yeah he is," Toothless gave his rider a look that said 'what is this?' and all Hiccup could do was let excitably Camicazi calm down on her own devices and with the help of Beetle to stop her from bouncing around.

"What happened to his tail?" Beetle asked. She had come up to the black dragon's side and had seen the red tail fin with the Viking head on it. She had overcome her initial fear of stroking the large dragons and carefully placed her hand on Toothless' side. Toothless could see she meant no harm and purred for her. "I never would have guessed dragons purr."

"I injured him... before I realised dragons weren't as bad as we all thought." Hiccup said, watching as Thuggory and Camicazi went to greet the other dragons with Snotlout and Astrid, the twins were fighting over something again and Fishlegs was stroking Horrorcow as Camicazi sat in the gentle Gronkle's saddle, which looked way too big for her. Thuggory was asking Snotlout something about Fireworm.

"You hurt him! And he lets you ride him?"

"Yep, I caught him in bola some time ago and as he crashed he must have lost his tail fin in the trees." Hiccup said, stroking Toothless on his nose "Its weird that, I wished I never made that invention, because it hurt so bad, but I'm glad I did make it, because I met Toothless and befriended him because of it." Beetle smiled at him as he tried to explain it better, but kept getting caught with his words. Luckily for him, the large horn that was suspended by one of the towers was blown and signalled the start of the markets and the things Camicazi was most looking forward to, the sheep races and the weapon demonstrations. Although the prisoners had been arranged around the Arena the time to buy slaves wouldn't be for another day yet. But the visiting Vikings would be able to look at the prisoners and see what ones they'd like to barter for, the Meatheads in particular were very fond of slave labour.

Although the sheep races and the weapon demonstrations were enough to keep Camicazi occupied it was the many breeds of dragons she was more excited to meet. Hearing about the old female Night Fury they had even paid a visit to the now mostly empty Great Hall to see her, the old female coming up to them and letting their inquisitive fingers brush her storm grey scales and huge back fin. The teens dragons each paying their respects to the old female, with bowed heads and crooning purrs. Giving Hiccup time in explaining the hierarchy between the dragons which took age, breed and accomplishments into consideration of rank. Toothless was quite high in the ranks, but even he paid his respects to the old female, it was testament to her age.

Hiccup wondered to himself how far in the rank the feathered Night Fury would come.

It wasn't long before Camicazi asked if Hiccup and the others could teach her, and the other two how to fly, much to the worry of poor, shy Beetle. That was how they found themselves on the outskirts of the Wild Zone, a large forest outside of the village where there was a large cave system that the dragons used as a roost at Berk. Hiccup and Gobber had constructed a workshop by its entrance for the riders of the bigger dragons since the forge in the village was a little too small for the large dragons like Nightmares, Zippleback and Thunderdrums. Recently, some dragons used the cave entrance to chose who their rider would be. Since it was Hiccup's dream to have all the tribes befriend the dragons now that they were no longer under the influence of the Green Death he decided that it couldn't hurt to perhaps have the two heirs of their ally tribes to have their own dragon partners. Telling the three however, brought three different responses. Camicazi was all for it and dashed into the cave before Hiccup had even finished explaining or Tuffnut could even give her a torch, and Beetle, who had looked very shocked and very reluctant went rushing after her excitable friend, making sure to take a torch as she ran past the male twin. "Well, just find a dragon who's willing to be your partner and come back out here, I'll find a saddle that you can use for now before I make a proper saddle for you." Thuggory nodded than confidently entered the cave grabbing a torch from Tuffnut who had lit one for him.

"Is this a good idea?" Ruffnut asked once Thuggory was out of earshot. Hiccup was already picking out pre-made saddles for a number of breeds as they waited for the three to return. "It's not that I don't think they couldn't handle dragons but do you think it might be too soon to start teaching the other tribes how to train dragons?"

"She has a point Hiccup, the markets only last for a couple of days, they'll go home after that." Fishlegs added.

"If the dragons do get close to them then perhaps we can ask Bertha and Mogadon if they can stay for a while to learn." Hiccup answered, though truthfully he hadn't thought of that. He hoped that if it did come to that, the friendship the chiefs had with his father would help them show how important it was to have dragons around and to stop fighting them.

"Do you think any of the dragons will partner with them? They come from different tribes, do you think the dragons will pick up on that?" Ruffnut asked, sitting on a nearby rock.

"Do you think that will put off Camicazi?" said Snotlout. "She doesn't seemed to one to take no for an answer."

"Beetle's gonna have her hands full trying to catch her." Astrid said, sitting beside Ruff. The teens' dragons had followed them down and were all stood at the mouth of the cave looking inside and calling out to their fellow dragons, some coming out and joining them in the sun.

"I'm sure it will be all right." Hiccup said, getting several Nadder saddles ready, not only Deadly Nadders but other dragons from the Nadder family were common in the cave at the moment. They didn't have long to wait until Beetle came back, out of breath and looking around worriedly. Behind her, with its long neck stretching out to sniff the young girl was a Scauldron, a dragon famous for using boiling hot water instead of fire to attack its opponents. Scauldrons looked like they shared many of their body characteristics of the Zipplebacks, only without an extra head and its neck was baggy and could hold a surprising amount of boiling water ready to spit out at any nearby foes. It followed Beetle as she rushed over to Hiccup and began babbling.

"Has Cami come out yet? I couldn't find her! She went deeper into the cave system."

"No, you're the first out." Tuffnut said, seeing Hiccup strap a Scauldron saddle to the dragon's back, a rather colourful and vocal male. The Scauldron waited for Hiccup to finish off putting the saddle on his back before picking up his, hopeful, human partner by the back of her shirt. I say hopeful because a partnership between a human and a dragon was a relationship, and like all relationships, some didn't work out.

"Whoa! What's happening? What's happening?" Beetle screamed as she found herself being lifted off the ground.

"It okay, he's just putting you on his back." Hiccup said, and the Scauldron gently placed the human girl on the saddle. Beetle clung to the leather item, suddenly aware that she was just about to be several metres in the air soon. She knew from experience that Camicazi could look after herself. "Okay, Ruff, Tuff, you keep an eye on her as she's flying..." Hiccup began then looking at the twins as they scrambled onto the back NewtSlug, turned to Fishlegs and Horrorcow. "... and Fishlegs. You keep your eyes on the twins."

"Okay Hiccup." the large boy said, getting onto Horrorcow and taking off after the twins and the Scauldron. Not so much as a second later, Thuggory sauntered out of the cave with a silver Monstrous Nightmare, with rusty-coloured stripes and back spines following him.

"Snotlout get ready, you can show Thuggory the ropes."

"I hope there's some gulls to chase." Snotlout said excitedly, rushing to mount Fireworm. The silver Nightmare was a young male who would probably get a little bit bigger before being fully grown. _Good_ thought Hiccup _I have a feeling Thuggory's going to grow a little more before he's an adult._ Once the saddle was secure on the Nightmare's back Thuggory mounted and followed Snotlout into the sky.

"That just leaves Camicazi." Hiccup said, sitting next to Astrid on the rock.

"You don't think she's got herself lost do you?" Astrid asked, "Those caves are quite a spider's web."

"Camicazi seems to be one of those people who can get themselves out of trouble, as easily as they get themselves into it." Hiccup observed.

"A bit like you." Astrid smiled "Beetle looked a bit unsure of her dragon."

"I was a bit unsure about Toothless when I first met him, I think they'll be okay," Hiccup assured her "but I will need to tell them all about regurgitated meals." Toothless and Brightclaw came to sit with their humans and some of the wild dragons came and had a sniff at the leather saddles in the workshop, even accepting strokes from the two humans before either taking off and flying off somewhere or returning into the cave system. Astrid's head rested on Hiccup's shoulder and their fingers entwined as they waited for the Bog-Burglar heir to return.

"Do you hear something?" Astrid asked suddenly, breaking the quiet moment as her head shot up.

"Hear what?" Listening carefully, Hiccup could just hear the sound of running dragon claws coming from the cave and the unmistakeable, excited speech of Camicazi. Walking up to the cave entrance Hiccup and Astrid stared into the cave and ducked just in time as a long, golden dragon, came soaring over their heads with Camicazi's whooping joy lingering in the air. She and the dragon she had found were already flying fast over the sea and Toothless and Brightclaw really had to work their wings to catch up with the streaking gold dragon.

When Hiccup was finally able to catch up he realized that he had only read about this dragin in the old Dragon Manual. It was long and slender, with long wings the same shiny gold as the rest of its body. On its head, above its eyes were antler-like horns and underneath its wide nostrils were two, long trailing whiskers. This was a extraordinarily rare Mimic dragon, also called a Mood dragons. The Dragon Manual claimed it could change colour and mimic the sound of prey to fool its food or the roars of bigger dragons to protect itself from predators. Hiccup got Toothless to fly alongside the Mood dragon and its excitable rider to try and get her to slow down, but looking at the dragon's wide eyes, tongue lolling from its mouth and the happy puffs of smoke that came rolling out of its flaring nostrils he realised this dragon was enjoying the wild ride almost as much as its whooping and air-punching rider. _That's all we need! A Camicazi dragon! _Hiccup thought to himself.

Astrid and Brightclaw seemed to have given up trying to catch up with the two other dragons and were content to watch where they were going from a higher altitude. Camicazi and the gold dragon weaved dangerously about cliffs and stacks of rocks in the sea before finally the dragon came crashing down in exhaustion on a small island a good few miles from the Isle of Berk. Their home island was a large blot on the horizon with several other blots around it. Toothless landed a few feet from the dragon and young girl and bounded over to them before letting Hiccup off his back.

"Wow! Isn't she gorgeous?" Camicazi said, holding the exhausted dragon's head in her arms. The gold Mood dragon's tail began to wag happily, and bright pink stripes appeared on its belly. "Isn't she fast! Can I keep her?" the Mood dragon's pink stripes got bigger and its thin tongue began to lap at the little Viking's cheek. By now Brightclaw was able to reach them, and alerted to the action, the others had followed Brightclaw and Astrid to this far off islet.

Beetle dismounted the Scauldron, giving him a pat before rushing off to see to her friend.

"Cami! Are you okay? What happened?"

"I'm fine Beetle." Camicazi said, coming to her senses a bit. "Do you think Mum will let me have her?"

"Oh, Camicazi! What are we going to do with you?"

"Bog-Burglars know not the meaning of fear! For Bog-Burglar hearts are stronger than oak! Your ship is not lost when the sea is your home! And Bog-Burglars fight forever!" Camicazi shouted out to the setting sun.

"Yes, yes, I know all that. Come on, lets get back to Berk." Beetle said, and helped Camicazi get to her feet. The others helped as the small Viking girl got steady again and waited as the Mood dragon rested for a little while.

As they waited, Hiccup used the opportunity to look around this small land mass. There was an old building here, decayed beyond recognition but it looked to have been a rather large structure. All that remained standing was the North most wall, covered in vegetation and there, right in front of him, deep in sleep, was the huge feathered Night Fury that had saved Berk. Its great wings were wrapped tight to its body and with the light of the evening sun disappearing into the sea Hiccup could see the details of this mysterious creature. It had not only feathered wings but a mane of thick plumage around its throat and running down its back to the base of its tail. The tip of its tail was also feathered. The two horns on its nose shone dangerously in the sun and its strong fore-limbs pillowed its head and held the carcass of a shark underneath the black claws.

Watch him, the Great Destroyer,

as he settles down for lunch,

Killer whales are tasty ' cos they've

got a lot of crunch.

Us Great White sharks are scrumptious,

but here's a little tip:

Our teeny weeny pointy teeth can

give a nasty nip.

It was quiet and sounded like it was coming more from the wind, then from the dragon, but there was no doubting it. The strange little song was coming from the dragon. _It's... singing in its sleep!?_ Hiccup thought as he dared a few steps forward. _This is... odd._

"_**Why so odd?**_" came a voice in his head as both of the dragons glowing, amber eyes shot open and landed on Hiccup, who retreated quickly back to the old, decaying archway. Tripping over his prosthetic as he did so. "_**A dragon with his eyes shut is not necessarily asleep, so a dragon with his mouth closed is not necessarily singing. But THAT, young Hiccup, is the sound of my singing super.**_"

-----------------------------------------------------------HTTYD------------------------------------------------------------

I have the privilege of owning all the How To books so I can pick up some plot points from them. But I hope to make a completely new story while tying it into the HTTYD world.

If you enjoyed it, leave your thought in a review.


End file.
